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Magpul PMag 15 GL9 magazine review

It was before SHOT Show 2016 that Magpul sent me a couple of their PMag GL9 magazines to try out and review. It was last year I reviewed the PMag GL 17 for full size Glocks and they were solid magazines that worked and gave no trouble. You can read that review by following this link.

Since the PMag 15 is built to the same specs, other than being a bit shorter and holding 15 rounds, I had no reason to believe they would perform any different, but we all know what assuming will get you. So we set out to the range a few times to put the magazines through their paces. The primary test platform was a Glock 19 but I also included a Glock 26 to be sure it would be reliable in the sub compact Glock 9mm.

PMag on right Factory Glock on left. Notice the PMag also have provisions in the magazine body if you swap the magazine catch on your Gen 4 Glock, they will still lock in place.

Factory Glock mag on left while the PMag is on the right. The PMag 15 does not have witness holes on the rear of the magazine but as you can see at the bottom there is a single witness hole and indicates the magazine is fully loaded when you see the case through the hole.

A factory Glock 19 magazine weights 1067.4 gr., is 4.258″ high, and 0.910″ at it’s widest, while the PMag 15 GL9 weights 741gr and measures 4.465″ high and 0.900″ wide. So you can see they are close but not exactly the same. The extra height seems to come from a thicker base pad on the PMag. If you are running a shallow magazine well on your Glock 19 the PMag will seat reliable with the thicker base pad. Much of the weight savings on the PMag is due to it’s all plastic construction, while the Glock is has a steel liner.

After many runs with the magazines, leaving one loaded and one unloaded to be sure the plastic feed lips would not spread under tension. Truthfully the PMag 15 gave the same results as the PMag 17 throughout the review. There were no feeding issues, the slide was reliably locked back on both the Glock 19 and 26, and they dropped free when empty.

At a $15.95 MSRP it is an inexpensive option to stock up on reliable magazines for your Glock.

Specifications

Made in U.S.A.

Compatible with all compact and sub-compact 9mm Glock handguns

Durable, lightweight, and extremely stiff polymer construction

High visibility controlled-tilt follower

Long life stainless steel spring for corrosion resistance

Flared, easily removable floor plate

Dot matrix panel for magazine marking and identification

Full magazine indicator windows on both sides of body

Drops free loaded or unloaded

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About Hunter Elliott

I spent much of my youth involved with firearms and felt the call early on to the United States Marine Corps, following in my father's and his brother's footsteps. Just after high school I enlisted and felt most at home on the rifle range, where I qualified expert with several firearms and spent some time as a rifle coach to my fellow Marines. After being honorably discharged I continued teaching firearm safety, rifle and pistol marksmanship, and began teaching metallic cartridge reloading. In the late 1990s I became a life member to the National Rifle Association and worked with the Friends of the NRA. Around that time my father and I became involved with IDPA and competed together up until he passed away. I began reviewing firearms for publications in the mid 2000s and have been fortunate to make many friends in the industry. Continuing to improve my firearms skills and knowledge is a never ending journey in which we should all be committed. I am also credited as weapons master on a few independent films.